


Don't Forget

by Nyanase



Category: Free!
Genre: Character Death, Original Character - Freeform, Other, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 15:53:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1610801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyanase/pseuds/Nyanase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slowly, he began to piece it all together. The eruption of noise before his loss of consciousness, the imobility of his body and the sluggish way in which his mind worked. The car journey became the forefront of his thoughts, that much he could clearly recall before it all went black.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Forget

**Author's Note:**

> So the other day I recieved the following prompt from a fellow roleplayer: "My muse has just been in a major car accident. Your muse is on the scene, shocked to see who is in the destroyed car." and let's just say neither of us expected it to be quite this painful.
> 
> Unlike some of my other drabbles this one deviates quite a bit from canon in that Haruka's twin is one of the main focuses. Arata, for those unfamiliar with him, is a friend's OC based off the Nanase twin which appeared in FrFr! I wont go into too much detail here but he's a wonderful character so I'd highly recommend checking him out.
> 
> Check out Arata at: [theothernanase.tumblr.com](http://theothernanase.tumblr.com)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you... enjoy? this... I don't know what to say actually other than I am so very sorry.

The last thing he remembered was the screeching of tires across tarmac and the deafening crash as the vehicles collided. When Haru came to, his world was distorted. His lungs burnt with each intake of air and opening his eyes was a near impossibility. His body too, was unresponsive and heavy and he was left to rely on his ears alone as he tried to recall where he was and why he was in this state.

Was it a dream? One lucid enough to feel real whilst still imobilising his body? It certainly seemed possible and in the murky mess that was Haruka’s mind he could think of no other explanation. 

Though the air around him was filled with noise it was difficult to make anything out, almost as if water filled his ears, muffling any sound that reached him. There were voices, that much he was sure of, though he could make out little more than the urgency of their tone. Every word swirled together into an undecipherable mess until he was sure they couldn’t possibily be speaking Japanese anymore.

Where was he? This couldn’t be home, so then, where? Why was he here?

A wave of fatigue washed over him, the first real thing he felt following the numbness that had taken over his body. Sleep seemed like such an appealing thing, or well, if this was sleep then perhaps it was waking that he was craving. Yes, if he let himself sleep here then he would wake in the real world, that was how it worked, wasn’t it?

_"Haruka!"_

Before he could lose his conciousness a voice called to him, clearer than all the rest and for the first time, he could make out what it said. It repeated his name, urgency and desperation growing in it’s tone with each scream. 

_Who?_

_"Nii-san! Please!"_

_Nii-san?_ He was still confused, still struggling with even the most basic of thoughts. Even something as simple as this baffled him for a moment. 

And then it hit him.

Nii-san. That was him. Then the voice belonged to—

'Arata.' He made to speak yet no sound passed his lips. They didn't so much as move and the word remained trapped on the tip of his tongue. Why couldn't he speak?

He tried once more, and again, and one last time but each attempt fell flat. Even just mouthing the word with no sound was a fruitless effort and he felt his frustration rise. His brother was calling to him yet he couldn’t even answer. Couldn’t even  _see_ him. 

Maybe if he tried his eyes again. 

His lids were heavy, heavier than they’d ever been, even after a rough night’s sleep. He was sure that if he could rub his hands against them or splash his face with water it would have been so much easier but those options were far from available to him now.

It took a while but slowly, steadily, he opened his eyes. At first, there was not much difference to having them closed. The world was as blurry and unfocused as his thoughts and that alone made him blink his eyes shut once more. He forced them open a second time, focusing everything within him to stare up at the spot where he was sure his brother’s face would be and slowly, surely Arata came into focus.

Haru’s brows knotted together in confusion when he registered the look on his brother’s face. Never before had he seen such fear on those identical features. His eyes were alight with utter terror and concern and Haru wanted desperately to ask what was wrong. He didn’t understand. Eveything was strange and confusing and he hated it.

Relief briefly crossed Arata’s eyes, for what, Haru couldn’t even guess at, before all that was left was the expression which had greeted him.

"Thank god." His twin murmured and Haru was sure he saw tears glistening in the corners of Arata’s eyes. He wanted to raise his hand, to brush them away and tell him not to be upset but his arms, as unresponsive as ever, now carried a dull ache and refused to co-operate.

"Wha—" A sound slipped past Haruka’s lips yet the rest of his sentence refused to follow. Before he could try again, Arata interrupted him. 

"Don’t push yourself!" He practically cried out, eyes widening in shock, yet Haru could tell he was stuck between being relieved that he had spoken and wishing he hadn’t exerted himself, "The ambulance is coming so you need to stay still and wait."

_Ambulance?_

Why would there be an ambulance? Part of him wanted to call bluff yet Arata’s expression was as serious as it could have been. He couldn’t have been lying. 

Slowly, he began to piece it all together. The eruption of noise before his loss of consciousness, the imobility of his body and the sluggish way in which his mind worked. The car journey became the forefront of his thoughts, that much he could clearly recall before it all went black.

_Oh—_

A crash. Then now— he’d been injured?

He tried to glance around, struggling greatly with the lack of mobility in his neck. The range his eyes could view was not great and everytime he moved them the world spun, distorting once more but finally, as he settled on things one by one, waiting for them to focus each time it all became clear - the frantic witnesses hovering by the roadside, the stand-still of traffic, the mangled mess of the vehicles behind him.

How had he gotten out? In his current state there was no way he could have pulled himself from the vehicle. As he looked down at his body, finally, his unspoken question was answered. His clothes were tattered and torn. Blood soaked through numerous rips in the fabric and the sight alone made his stomach churn. Being thrown from the car could be the only explanation for how he’d made it out for his body was still twisted in an unnatural position which no rescuer would have placed him in. 

And there, where his hand lay, still numb to him, his brother’s fingers were intertwined with his own. Haru stared for what felt like an eternity and only when Arata called his name again, his voice frail and concerned, did he realise that tears had formed in his own eyes, though they were no match for the ones which streamed down his brother’s face. They held a gaze but it only seemed to encourage the younger siblings tears until he was forced to wipe his eyes with the back of his free sleeve to keep his vision of Haruka clear.

'Arata… Please, don't cry.'  Why now, of all times, would his voice not work? Why, when he needed to comfort his brother most of all could he only manage to make it worse? He hated when Arata cried. As the big brother he should never have been responsible for it. He was supposed to be the one brushing those tears away and holding him until he calmed once more, but now-

'I'm so sorry-' He was so desperate for those words to be spoken and even if Arata saw it in his eyes it wouldn’t be enough. It could never be enough for what he had done to him. 

The dull ache that had taken over his body since waking had grown stronger. It throbbed through his veins leaving no place untouched. This realisation of reality was painful, both physically and mentally. The shock had not yet worn off and now, more than ever, he wished for sleep, for peace to wash over him and leave him well rested to wake another day and find that it was only a dream. 

He knew the reality of what would pass if he let his conscious slip now though and as much as he longed for it, and as bad as he felt for wanting such a thing, he knew he could not add to Arata’s pain. He’d endure it all if it meant that he could banish that fear from his brother’s heart. 

Though Arata hadn’t said it, Haru could see it in his eyes. When he'd arrived here, he hadn’t expected Haru to come round. By opening his eyes, Haru had given him hope and he could not take that away from him so soon.

A hand squeezed his own, probably not for the first time, and this time he felt it faintly. How long had his brother been doing that, hoping that Haru would return the gesture?

He wanted to so dearly but the effort of keeping himself awake and alert already exerted too much pressure on his battered body. The most he could manage was a feeble flick of his fingers but that alone seemed to do something for his sibling.

For the first time since regaining consciousness Haru saw a smile tug at the corners of Arata’s lips. It was small and sad but a smile nonetheless and it seemed to reassure him more than his failed attempt to speak.

Haru knew he couldn’t keep it up for long though and while they might only have been waiting a few moments, to him it had felt like an eternity. Arata had mentioned an ambulance but still there were no signs of it, no distant sirens, nothing. He had to hold on until then, if he could do that then-

"Guhh—"

Haru’s body jerked with the force of the cough and a cold chill engulfed him at the realisation that the coppery taste in his mouth was that of blood. Arata, too, had startled and instantly, the panic had returned to his eyes full force. 

No no  _no_. Anything but this. Anything but the wooziness which swept across him. Anything but the sight of Arata’s pain etched into his mind as the world began to blur once more. He  _had_ to hold on. Just a few more minutes, he convinced himself, that would be all he needed. He could manage a few, measly minutes. 

As much as he dreaded to accept it, he knew that even that was too big a feat to ask and it seemed that even Arata had realised for his brother grew frantic at the glaze which clouded Haru’s once brilliant, blue hues.

It wasn’t from lack of will power - heck, if that was all he needed they’d already be home - nor was it from a weak love for his brother. No, the weakness which took him in an ironfast hold was something not even the strongest of men could have fought against. He could fight all he wanted but it would still overpower him in the end.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t fear which followed that realisation, it was another, far more powerful emotion and that was regret. Regret that he would leave his friends and those he cared about and regret that not only would he have to leave his brother, but that Arata would be unfortunate enough to bear witness to the exact moment.

A cold sadness gripped at his heart and he was sure that that alone would pull him under. He wanted to cry, more than the stoic boy ever had in his life. He wanted to hold his brother, he wanted to  _stay_ with him. How could he call himself his big brother now?

Hiccups sounded from above him, his brother’s tears now falling with no end in sight and that urged him to try once more, before it was too late.

"A—" No. Godamnit. "Mmm—" Why?  _Please_. This was so damn important and with each failed attempt his despair only increased. 

"Ara— Mm Sor—" 

Arata shook his head frantically and at first, Haru thought he didn’t understand. A brief wave of relief washed over Haru when his brother, stumbling over his words, told him his apology was not needed and that  _he_ should be sorry, but it was shortlived. 

If there was one thing he wanted, it was to be sure that Arata would never blame himself for this. He knew already that he would; he’d find ways to convince himself that he could have,  _should have_  helped and that some how he could have changed the outcome. It would all be in vain, for they both knew it was impossible but Haru couldn’t stand to think of Arata beating himself up over this.

"Sss— No— fau—lt…" He could tell Arata wanted to argue back but perhaps something in Haru’s eyes prevented him from doing so.

"So—rry." Another cough, much more violent than the first. Pain ruptured in his chest but he pressed on anyway, "For—gi— me— Ara…"

He could feel the heated tears roll from his eyes and for the first time, he was glad that he could cry. Glad that he could at least show some emotion, even if it was one as painful as this. 

He forced a smile, or as close to one as he could get with limited control over his features, “Lo— ve— yo——u.”

A long, loud wail left the younger Nanase as he bent over his brother. He buried his face into his neck, uncaring of the blood and the ruble which dirtied his skin and clothes.

The warmth of Arata’s body against him was the best thing he could have asked for. Though he couldn’t shift his his own body to return the embrace at least now he could feel him one last time. 

"Haruuu—-" A choked sob followed the whine of his name, "Please don’t leave me. I— *hicc* I need you—"

Nothing could break his heart in two like those words. Though he’d always suspected it, always hoped for it, Arata had never once admitted that he needed Haru. It seemed almost cruel that he should hear it now.

At least, at the end, he had the one thing he’d craved the most of all. Arata’s love was the much needed comfort in his time of need and if he had to go, at least he could take this with him.

In Arata’s arms, he felt secure and strangely at peace in such a dire time. A calm serenity washed over him, perhaps brought about by his dwindling consciousness, gently wiping away the background noise and the pain which had become ever more persistent.

Soon it was all gone and all that remained was himself and Arata. Even his brother’s sobs had become but a murmur in the distance so that all was calm and quiet and all that mattered was the warmth of his body and his love. 

_'I'll miss you so much but please— don't be sad.'_

Arata had so much more he could live for and with his dying breath he wished for nothing more than his brother’s happiness. 

_'I love you, Arata. Don't forget.”_


End file.
